After their minor league club signed Danny DeKeyser to a PTO, the Toronto Maple Leafs have brought up another AHL defenseman to the active roster. Filip Kral has been recalled, as the team moves Jake Muzzin to injured reserve. Muzzin is out with a neck injury that will keep him out indefinitely.
Kral, meanwhile, could be looking at his first NHL game should he get into the lineup. The 22-year-old defenseman was a fifth-round pick of the team in 2018 and has developed nicely over the years, to the point of being one of the final cuts this fall. The 6’2″ Czech-born defender played three seasons in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs before returning home to play another year overseas.
Last season, he posted 21 points in 58 games during his first full season with the Toronto Marlies, and now he’s an NHL call-up just a week into the schedule. As David Alter of Sports Illustrated notes, Jordie Benn and Timothy Liljegren are both joining Maple Leafs’ practice Wednesday, though neither can be removed from LTIR until November 5.
That means a little bit of runway for Kral, though it seems likely that Victor Mete will get the first crack with the main group.
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